Sunday, May 2, 2010

Blogging overload

I think I've taken this blogging thing much further than it was ever meant to be taken. You see, this isn't my only blog. When I created this blog, I also created Mormon Enigma Recipes and Mormon Enigma Poems. There are also, of course, the MoHo Directory and MoHo Polls blogs. But, beyond that, I also have a private blog.

Did I stop there? Heaven's no! I also have a personal blog under my real name where I mostly talk about cooking and gardening. And, most recently, I started a blog about the Epson R2880 printer to share tips and tricks about how to get the most from it (which produces very beautiful fine art prints, btw)

In case anybody lost count - that's 8 - count them, 8 - blogs. Can we say "blogging addiction"? Is there some sort of 12 step program I need to join?

I'm not going to leave the blogging world altogether - but I just can't keep up with this many blogs any more. The end result is that I don't do any of them justice. Something has to give - but which blogs should stay and which ones need to go? And, for the latter, do I leave them up for posterity sake? Or should I delete them altogether?

A Mormon Enigma - This is my first foray into the world of blogging; and, it has been instrumental in my self discovery as I endeavor to figure out what it means to be married, Mormon, and gay. But, I am beginning to wonder if Abelard's time is coming to and end. The name of this blog "A Mormon Enigma", my pseudonym "Abelard", even my emailid "wistfulmormon" all reflect how I felt 3-1/2 years ago - but they are not an accurate reflection for where I am today. So, I have a couple of decisions to make: 1) do I continue blogging about my thoughts about being married, Mormon, and gay? And, if so, do I continue blogging as Abelard? Or should I leave Abelard behind and create a brand new blog with a brand new persona - one that is a more accurate portrayal for where I am today on my journey? Do I even need to hide behind a persona? Perhaps it's time to start being a little more 'out' - maybe start blogging using my real first name with the ultimate goal of becoming totally out in the open. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Mormon Enigma Recipes - I created this blog for the simple purpose of sharing favorite recipes. I haven't updated this blog in a couple of years as I now use my personal blog for recipe sharing. I'll probably delete this blog once I move all of the recipes over to my personal blog.

Mormon Enigma Poems -When I first accepted my homosexuality, I wrote several poems in my personal journal. I'm not suggesting they are of any literary value - but they reflected the feelings I had at the time. I don't want to delete the poems; but, I'm thinking I'll merge them into another blog and delete this blog.

MoHo Polls - This started out as just something fun, but I think it's outgrowing it's entertainment value - fewer people are taking the polls, and I keep coming up blank on new polling ideas. Frankly, of all my blogs - this one is the most likely to be axed. So, the real question here is leave it or delete it. Although, if someone else wants to take it over then I'm more than willing to pass the reins.

MoHo Directory - I'm fairly certain this one will survive the cut as I believe it fulfills a need. Plus, I don't really have to devote much time to it since I don't actually post to it. Maintaining this blog has become even easier as I've started receiving emails from fellow MoHo's alerting me to new blogs to add. But, if anyone wants to help maintain this blog then I would most certainly welcome the assistance - even if it's just sending me emails alerting me to new blogs you've encountered. But, it would be nice to have a co-administrator - another set of eyes to add new blogs.

Private blog - This started out as a place for me to share thoughts that I just wasn't comfortable sharing on my Mormon Enigma blog. It's a private blog using my real name and is a place where I share my raw, unfiltered self rather than the filtered persona that Abelard has evolved into. Although 'share' is a bit of a misnomer as there are only two other people that have been invited to read this blog. I guess it really amounts to more of a personal diary. I'm perplexed about what to do with this blog. On one hand it hasn't really turned out as I originally envisioned it - I haven't even posted to it in several months. On the other hand, I'm not totally adverse to exposing my real self to others. So, if you're interested then send me an email and I'll consider sending you an invite. No promises, as I haven't decided if I'm even ready to open it up to more people, but you'll stand a better chance if you tell me why you want to see this raw side of me.

Personal blog focusing on cooking and gardening - this is the blog I share with family and friends. It's also become my own personal cookbook as I share recipes that I've developed. I would like to have more time to devote to this blog. I'd also like to focus more on my photography on this blog. So, of all my blogs this is the most likely to stay around. But, it's not a place where I'm comfortable sharing the gay stuff.

Personal blog focusing on the Epson R2880 printer - This is my newest blog where I share my own personal experiences with the Epson R2880 printer as well as useful bits that I've gleaned elsewhere on the internet. It's been helpful to me; and, I think it will be helpful to other users of the Epson R2880 printer; but, I expect the amount of time I spend on it will greatly diminish over time.

I'm not in any big hurry to do anything - and I certainly don't want to do anything rash. But, expect to see some changes in the coming weeks and months.

It would be nice if I could merge some of the blogs. For example, I'd like to be able to publish private posts that only certain people could see and eliminate my private blog. Is there some other blogging tool (besides blogger) that allows for this?

BTW, If anybody wants to see my personal blogs then send me an email and I'll send you a link. They're both public blogs; but, I use my real name; so, I'm just not comfortable linking to them from this blog. For those of you who are my Facebook friends, I include links to my personal blogs on my Facebook profile. If any of you are on Facebook and would like to be my friend then send me an email and I'll send you a friend request.

7 comments:

I'm in the middle of consolidating my blogs. Thankfully they all import into each other really well. I used to have 7, now I just have three - a book blog, a personal and writing blog, and the blog where I co-host the GLBT Reading Challenge (reading challenges are big in the book blogging world). So I sympathize. I know the pain of having too much AND of condensing.

And, in answer to your question if there is a blogging site out there where you can control who reads which blog post or not, yes, there is one, but for the life of me, I cannot remember its name.

I have tried MANY different formats for blogging: blogger, wordpress, livejournal, weebly, yahoo360, windowslivepress, to name a few. And, I find blogger to be the very best for my needs.

I would hate to see your "Mormon Enigma" go away. If you do decide to start another blog, more the "real" you, with your first name, etc. I do not know why you could not just start that now with this blog- you could give it a new name, start posting uder your real name, and then all of your "Abe" material is still here.

I, too, am in to photography, and found a template that makes it very easy to post pictures.

I am grateful for ALL of the work you have done in the blogging world. I would hate to see MoHo directoy go away. But, I agree with you about the polls- they do not seem to get used much and I am sure it is hard coming up with new ideas for them.

You could keep A Mormon Enigma as your flagship Moho vehicle and have the directory, polls and recipes show up on the sidebar as RSS feeds, no? I think your Moho Directory is a great public service and if you don't want to stay with it, maybe another community minded Moho could at least become a co-author with you?No, I'm not volunteering. :D

There is a time and season for everything. The bottom line for me (if you choose to end or consolidate in some form or another) is that you continue to speak and share and allow yourself to be YOU! Whatever works for you, but please don't just pull the plug (selfishly I still need you out there).

And if Abe goes, please place him somewhere where he can still be found and read and cherished. His 3-1/2 year evolution is an important story that should not be lost or deleted.

.. Or a blog where every post is a post about one of the posts on one of your other blogs...

"I wrote a post on my printer blog today. I was going to post about the difference in quality between paper X and paper Y, but I couldn't see any appreciable difference so instead I decided to post about the recent price drop on the printer at retail site Z. Tomorrow I think I'll write two posts, one on Mormon Enigma, and one on my private blog (and of course the post on this blog that chronicles those posts)"

A child is listening

"There are children like Bobby sitting in our congregations. Unknown to you, they will be listening to your 'Amens' as they silently cry out to God in their hearts. Their cries will go unnoticed for they cannot be heard above your 'Amens'. Your fear and ignorance of the word gay will soon silence their cries. Before you echo 'Amen' in your home or place of worship, think and remember...a child is listening."-- Mary A. Griffith

MoHo Polls

Who is your favorite?

Help me decide Abelard's fate

If this blog and Abelard is retired, should I continue blogging with a new blog?

Whom do you consider to be prominent within the gay Mormon community? (choose all that apply)